Thiruppaarththanpalli
| Thiruppaarththanpalli | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Hinduism |
| District | Mayiladuthurai |
| Deity | Taamaraiyaal Kelvan Perumal
Tamarai Nayagi Parthasarathi |
| Features |
|
| Location | |
| Location | Parthanpalli |
| State | Tamil Nadu |
| Country | India |
  Location in Tamil Nadu | |
| Geographic coordinates | 11°10′11″N79°47′50″E/ 11.16972°N 79.79722°E |
| Architecture | |
| Type | Dravidian architecture |
TheTaamaraiyaal Kelvan Perumal TempleorThiruppaarththanpalliis located close to Thirunangur, a small village, 8 km east ofSirkalien route to Thiruvenkadu and is dedicated to the Hindu godVishnu.Constructed in theDravidian style of architecture,the temple is glorified in theNalayira Divya Prabandham,the early medievalTamilcanon of theAlvarsaints from the 6th–9th centuries CE. It is one of the 108Divya Desamsdedicated to Vishnu, who is worshipped as Taamariyaal Kelvan and his consortLakshmias Shegamalavalli.
It is one among the elevenDivya DesamsofThirunangur Tirupathisand is closely associated withThirumangai Alvar.It is also the only temple in the Nangur Divya Desams to have revered by an Alvar other than Thirumangai Alvar. As per Hindu legend, the temple tank for dug byArjunafrom the age ofMahabharata.Krishnaappeared as Parthasarathy to Arjuna here and initiated his education, leading to the name of the temple.
The temple is open from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. to 7 p.m and has four daily rituals at various times of the day. The Thirumangai Alvar Mangalasasana Utsavam celebrated annually during theTamilmonth ofThaiis the major festival of the temple during which the festival images of the elevenThirunangur Tirupathisare brought on mount designed likeGaruda,called GarudaVahana,to Thirunangur.
Legend
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ThePadma Puranadetails the legend associated with the temple.[1]As per Hindu legend,Arjuna,one of the fivePandavasfrom the epicMahabharathareached this place on a pilgrimage. He was thirsty and sought water from sageAgastyawho was doing penance. There was no water with the sage and all places around. Agastya realised that it was the trick of the godKrishna,who was the favoured deity of Arjuna. He advised Arjuna to pray Krishna, who did accordingly. Krishna was pleased with the prayer of Arjuna and offered him a sword. Arjuna dug the land with the sword which resulted in a gush of water resulting in the Katka Pushkarani, the temple tank. Arjuna is depicted in the temple sporting a sword, following the legend. Krishna also appeared to Arjuna as Parthasarathy and initiated his knowledge to understand who he actually was. Since Parthasarathy initiated education here for Arjuna, the place is called Parthanpalli. (Parthan + Palli, meaning school).[2]
The legend of all the eleven temples of Thirunangur are closely associated with each other. As per legend, the Hindu godShivastarted dancing in fury at this place after the death of his consort Uma due to theyajna(sacrifice) ofDaksha.Each time his lock of hair touched the ground, there were eleven other forms of Shiva who appeared. The celestial deities were worried that if the dance continues, it would result in decimation of entire creations. They prayed toVishnufor help, who appeared at this place. On seeing Vishnu, Shiva's anger was reduced and he requested Vishnu to appear in eleven forms like he did. On his request, Vishnu appeared in eleven different forms at Tirunangur. The eleven places where Vishnu appeared are believed to be where the eleven temples in Tirunangur are located. It is believed that several sages likeAgastya,Bharadvaja,GautamaandVarunaperformed penance at this place.[3]It is believed that Ekadasa Rudra, a form of Shiva, is believed to have worshiped Vishnu at this place.[4]
The Temple
[edit]
It is located close to Thirunangur, a small village, 8 km east ofSirkalien route to Thiruvenkadu. The temple complex has a singleprakaram(closed precincts of a temple) and separate shrines for Tamariyan Kelvan Perumal facing west, Shenbagavalli Thayar facing east and Arjuna. Thevimanaof the temple is called Narayana Vimanam and water body associated with the temple is called Katka Theertham.[1]The festival images of Tamaraiyan Kalvan,KrishnaandRama,are stored in the shrine of Tamarayan Kelvan. This is the only temple where the images of Rama and Krishna are housed in the same shrine.[5]The main gateway tower, therajagopuramfaces west and the temple is surrounded by walls. The temple tank is located in the southern side outside the temple complex. There is a separate hall in the temple complex that houses the chariot and festival chariots.[2]The festival deity has four consorts namely,Sridevi,Bhudevi,Niladevi,andJambavati.[6]Following the legend of sage Agastya, a separate shrine of Agastya was built during the consecration of the temple in May 2015.[5]
Festival
[edit]
The temple is open from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. The temple priests perform thepuja(rituals) during festivals and on a daily basis. As at other Vishnu temples of Tamil Nadu, the priests belong to theVaishnavaitecommunity, from theBrahminclass. The temple rituals are performed four times a day:Ushathkalamat 8 a.m.,Kalasanthiat 10:00 a.m.,Sayarakshaiat 5:00 p.m. andArdha Jamamat 7:00 p.m. Each ritual has three steps:alangaram(decoration),neivethanam(food offering) anddeepa aradanai(waving of lamps) for both Tamaraiyan Kalvan and Shengamalavalli. During the worship, religious instructions in theVedas(sacred text) are recited by priests, and worshippers prostrate themselves in front of thetemple mast.There are weekly, monthly and fortnightly rituals performed in the temple.
The annual Theerthavari festival is celebrated during the New moon day ofTamil monthofAadiwhen the festival deity of the temple is taken in a procession to the sea atPoompuhar.During the new moon day of the Tamil monthThai,thefestival deityof Thirumangai Alvar is brought to the temple fromThiruvali-Thirunagari.[2]The Thirumangai Alvar Mangalasasana Utsavam is celebrated in the Tamil month ofThai(January–February). The highlight of the festival isGarudasevai,an event in which the festival images of the elevenThirunangur Tirupatisare brought on mount designed likeGaruda,called Garuda Vahana, to Thirunangur. The festive image of Thirumangai Alvar is also brought on aHamsa Vahanam(palanquin) and hispasurams(verses) dedicated to each of these eleven temples are recited during the occasion. The festival images of Thirumangai Alvar and his consort Kumudavalli Nachiyar are taken in a palanquin to each of the eleven temples. The verses dedicated to each of the eleven temples are chanted in the respective shrines. This is one of the most important festivals in the region which draws thousands of visitors.[2][7]
Religious significance
[edit]The temple is revered inNalayira Divya Prabandham,the 7th–9th centurySri Vaishnavacanon, by Thirumangai Alvar in one hymn andPoigai Alvarin one hymn. The temple is classified as aDivya Desam,one of the 108 Vishnu temples that are mentioned in the book. It is one among the elevenDivya DesamsofThirunangur Tirupathisand is closely associated withThirumangai Alvar.It is also the only temple in the Nangur Divya Desams to have been revered by an Alvar other than Thirumangai Alvar[citation needed].It is also the only one of the eleven to have both Rama and Krishna as festival deities.[2]Poigai Alvar makes a reference about the deity, though not directly about the temple in his works inTiruvandadi.[2]
References
[edit]- ^abR. 2001,pp. 522-3
- ^abcdefS., Prabhu (12 July 2012)."Shrine dedicated to Arjuna".The Hindu.Retrieved9 September2013.
- ^R. 2001,pp. 470-1
- ^Ayyar, P. V. Jagadisa (1982).South Indian Shrines: Illustrated.New Delhi: Asian Educational Services. p. 536.ISBN9788120601512.
- ^ab"A breath of fresh air".The Hindu.26 June 2015.
- ^Anantharaman, Ambujam (2006).Temples of South India.East West Books (Madras). pp. 62–67.ISBN978-81-88661-42-8.
- ^"Garuda Sevai"(PDF).Ramanuja.org.Retrieved19 August2011.
Sources
[edit]- R., Dr. Vijayalakshmy (2001).An introduction to religion and Philosophy - Tévarám and Tivviyappirapantam(1st ed.). Chennai: International Institute of Tamil Studies.
- T., Padmaja (2002).Temples of Kr̥ṣṇa in South India: history, art, and traditions in Tamilnāḍu.New Delhi: Shakti Malik.ISBN81-7017-398-1.
External links
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